Citi fraudster took exposure of Rs1.13 lakh cr on Nifty: Sebi

Gurgaon: Mastermind of Citibank fraud Shivraj Puri took an exposure of whopping Rs1.13 lakh crore in the equity market using Rs236 crore of 51 high networth individuals (HNIs) and corporates and lost everything following decline in stock markets, says a Sebi report.

Puri used to trade in future and options on the 50-share Nifty index, and lost out after undertaking multiple trade transactions, police sources said quoting the report of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Police commissioner S. S. Deswal said the Sebi has submitted its report to the police.

The fraud at the local branch of Citibank surfaced in December 2010, which lead to arrest of Puri, the branch’s customer relationship manager, and others.

The report of Sebi, which was roped in by the police to assist in the multi-crore fraud, found that Puri routed funds from accounts of 51 HNIs and corporates in the Nifty trading.

As per sources, Puri caused a loss of Rs306 crore to the account holders, of which he invested Rs236 crore in equity trading and paid Rs20 crore to his alleged accomplice Sanjay Gupta and invested some of it in property. A small part of the money was also recovered by the police.

Puri allegedly paid Rs20 crore to Sanjay Gupta, an employee of Hero Corporate, as “commission” to lure people to invest in his scheme.

The report said of the Rs1.13 lakh crore exposure, 89% or Rs1,00,758 crore was in the option index (OPTIDX), Rs11,543 crore in futures index (FUTIDX)and rest in future and option stocks, all on Nifty.

They were routed mainly through brokerage firms Religare and Bonanza, Deswal said.